Chapter 8

“My name is Javier.” The man said as he helped Adrian up.

Javier would come to be one of his trusted friends in prison.

The coming weeks were difficult for Adrian as he tried to adapt to prison life. Each day seemed like hell, but he consoled himself that he was at least able to save his mother.

But he hadn’t heard anything about his mother since he got into prison. No one from the Sinclair family had bothered to visit him, not even if his wife Jane.

He was finally relieved when one of the guards called his name and informed him that he had a visitor.

On getting to the visiting room, he saw that it was Jane.

Of course, no matter how angry she was at him, she would definitely not leave him there without visiting. His wife must still love him. So he thought.

He sat across her as she looked at him with a blank expression on her face.

“Jane…I knew you’d come to see me.”

Jane’s gaze swept over him. She could tell that prison life was already taking a toll on him, and part of her felt bad for him. However, she maintained her cold posture.

“Well, don’t get used to it. I didn’t come to see you. I just came to make things clear.”

Adrian could feel the weight in her words. This wasn't a reunion; this was an execution.

"I don't understand," Adrian said, his voice weak. "What do you mean?"

Jane reached into her bag and pulled out a brown-colored envelope, and tossed it on the table between them.

“You should sign them” Jane sneered. “They’re divorce papers.”

The floor fell out from under Adrian. Divorce?

"You… you're leaving me?" his voice broke.

Jane rolled her eyes. “Did you really think I was going to stick around?”

“Who wants to be with a man who is going to spend the next seven years in prison?”

A criminal. A disgrace. That's all he was to her now. Adrian's throat tightened as he struggled to find words to respond, but what was he to say? What could he say to make her understand?

He loved her, but it was obvious she no longer loved him.

A part of him knew it wasn’t just the fact that he was now in prison. She had long lost her love for him. This just made it easier for her to leave him.

Jane leaned in closer, pressing the envelope nearer to him, her eyes cold. "I need your signature. The sooner we make this official, the sooner I can move on with my life."

"Jane, please," Adrian tried to plead with her.

"I thought…I thought we were in this together."

Jane laughed harshly. "Together? Are you insane? The minute you stepped foot into that courtroom, you became a liability. I have a reputation to uphold, Adrian, and I'm not going to let your mistakes bring me down.

Adrian had no choice but to sign the papers and hand them over to her.

As Jane rose from the table to leave, Adrian's mind raced. His mother! he hadn't heard from her since the trial.

"Jane, wait!"

She paused, her back still facing him.

"My mother," Adrian continued, swallowing.

"Have you heard anything about her? Is she alright? I have got to know."

Jane flinched a little and then slowly turned to him. "She's fine.”

“Please, can you take care of her?”

Jane paused as though she wanted to say something but just walked away, leaving Adrian sitting there, staring at the divorce papers in front of him.

As Adrian returned to his cell, he felt something was odd when he asked Jane about his mother. He just couldn’t shake the thought that there was something she was hiding.

He had asked Evelyn not to tell his mother about his sentencing until after the surgery. But Jane said his mother was fine, meaning the surgery must have been successful. So why had his mother not come to see him?

He decided he was going to reach out Mrs. Crenshaw, one of his mother’s close friends. She would definitely have information on his mother.

“Hello, Mrs. Crenshaw…it’s Adrian”

“Adrian! I’m sorry about what happened with you. I heard you are in prison?”

“Yes unfortunately things happened that way. What about my mother? I haven’t heard from her since.”

“Oh my God. Didn’t you hear?”

"Your mother is dead, Adrian," she said with a sad tone.

"She couldn’t get the money for the surgery and unfortunately passed away last week. We buried her yesterday, I had planned to come and see you. I thought Evelyn informed you?"